Safety ski binding

ABSTRACT

A safety ski binding in which a ball is mounted on the ski and engages the socket of ski boot engaging means. A detent recess is provided in the ball and receives a spring-backed holding device mounted in the ski boot engaging means. The ski boot engaging means is thereby normally held in a selected position as determined by said detent recess but same can move out of such normal position in any direction permitted by the ball-and-socket relationship upon application of sufficient force thereto.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard ErlebachRiezlern-Kleinwalsertal, Germany [21] Appl. No. 782,361

[22] Filed Dec. 9, 1968 [45] Patented Mar. 30, 1971 [32] Priority Dec.19, 1967 [33] Germany [54] SAFETY SKI BINDING 6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 280/1L35 [51] Int. Cl A63c 9/084 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,466,48312/1966 France 280/11.35 413,685 12/1966 Switzerland 280/1 1.35

OTHER REFERENCES German Printed Application DAS 1145070 3/1963,Erlebach, 280/11.35 (lsht. dwg.-3pp. spec.)

German Printed Application DAS 1184259. 12/1964, Braito, 280/1 1.35 (4shts, dwg.-5 pp. spec.)

Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-John A. PekarAttorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn ABSTRACT: A safety ski binding inwhich a ball is mounted on the ski and engages the socket of ski bootengaging means. A detent recess is provided in the ball and receives aspringbacked holding device mounted in the ski boot engaging means. Theski boot engaging means is thereby normally held in a selected positionas determined by said detent recess but same can move out of such normalposition in any direction permitted by the ball-and-socket relationshipupon application of sufficient force thereto.

SAFETY SKI BINDING This invention relates to a safety ski bindingcomprising at least one sole holder engaging the toe or heel of theshoe, a ball head fixed to the ski and having a detent recess which whenin position of use is urged by a spring-backed locking means into a ballcup which at least partially surrounds the ball head and is connected tothe sole holding part.

In a known safety binding of this type, the locking part is constructedas a locating point which engages a detent recess, the center portion ofthe recess of which is surrounded by an edge portion in the form of anelliptical cone-shaped shell. Through this, the disengaging force hasits highest value perpendicularly to the ski and decreases to thesmallest value as it approaches the horizontal position. This detentrecess must be constructed precisely in order to fulfill the requirementof use and accordingly has a substantial'manufacture expense. Anyvariation results in changes of the disengaging force and thus providesa source of erratic operation which can lead to accidents.

The purpose of the present invention is to construct a safety skibinding of the above type which provides a simple construction for thedetent recess and the'locking part whereby, however, a greater releaseforce is required for the front release than for the horizontal rotaryrelease.

To attain this purpose, the invention provides that the detent recess isconstructed as a constantly curved surface and is positioned between thehorizontal and vertical plane starting at the center point of the ballhead. Through this arrangement of a simply constructed and inexpensivelymanufacturable detent recess in the first quadrant of the ball head(seen in a side view of the ski), the fulfillment of the aboverequirement regarding the various release forces is'easily andaccurately obtained.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the line ofspring action of the ball cup, which is connected to the sole holdingpart and is engaged in the detent recess through the locking part, canbe directed to the center point of the fixed ball head.

According to a still further characteristic of the invention, the lineof spring action can also extend eccentrically with respect to thecenter point of the fixed ball head, through which an advantageouschange of the release force is obtained.

According to a still further characteristic of the invention the lockingpart can be a ball and the detent recess can have a ball shape. Thisresults in an economical manufacture of the necessary parts.

According to a still further characteristic of the invention, thelocking part can be a ball and the detent recess can be a sphericalsector whereby the ball, if necessary, can have a surface contactinstead of a line contact.

According to a still further characteristic of the invention, thelocking part can also be a cone whereby the detent recess has a conicalshape.

According to a still further characteristic of the invention, therelation between the diameter of the ball head and the diameter of thelocking part can be about 1:] which results structurally andfunctionally in favorable dimensions and values.

The invention will be described more in detail hereinafter in connectionwith one embodiment which is illustrated in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectioned side-elevational view of the safety skibinding of the invention comprising two coacting balls as lockingelements; and

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of theinvention comprising a ball and a locating point as locking elements.

The safety ski binding according to FIG. 1 is mounted onto the ski andsubstantially comprises the ball head 2 which is secured to the ski 1,the locking (or detent) part 4 which is constructed as a ball 3, theball cup 6 which is connected to the sole (shoe) holding part and thespring element 7.

The ball head 2 is positioned on a pin 8 and is rigidly connected to theski 1 through said pin. The ball head 2 includes a detent recess 12between the horizontal plane 10 from the center point 9 and the verticalplane 1!. Said detent recess 12 is constructed as a constantly curvedsurface and can have a conical shape. The position of the detent recessbetween the vertical plane 11 and the horizontal plane 10 does notchange the magnitude of the front release force while the magnitude ofthe rotary release force decreases with an increasing approximation ofthe detent recess to the vertical plane ll, which means that the releaseoccurs more quickly. Thus it is made possible in a simple manner toobtain favorable relations between front release and rotary release.

The ball 3 engages the detent recess 12 under the pressure of the spring7. The ball 3 and the spring 7 are guided in a cylindrical section 13which is connected in one piece to the ball cup 6 which at leastpartially surrounds the stationary ball head 2. This ball cup 6 is openon the side 14 for reasons of installation and to assure a satisfactoryrotation motion. The

upper side 14 is covered in the upper zone by a metal plate 13 and by aresilient cover means (rubber, plastic or the like) to so that theinterior of the safety ski binding is satisfactorily protected againstdirt, icing, etc.

The spring 7 is urged against the ball 3 in the cylindrical section 13by means of a threaded bolt 17 and permits various adjustmentpossibilities, suited to the requirements, by adjusting the threadedbolt within the cylindrical section. The direction of the spring actionline 18 can extend to the center point 9 of the fixed ball head 2 or canbe arranged eccentrically thereto. A change of the release pressure anda further improvement of the relations of the front release with respectto the rotary release is advantageously obtained by means of theeccentric arrangement.

In the present case, the spring action line 18 extends eccentrically tothe center point 9 of the fixed ball head and a greater force isrequired for a front release as a result thereof. In the case of arotary release, the required force is smaller so that the ski binding ofthe invention can satisfactorilyfulfill the requirements which occur inpractice,

The safety ski binding of the invention can be released in any directionand thus meets all requirements of different dan gerous occurrences. Theball can slide, except in upward direction for which there is no need,in any desired direction away from the ball cup 6 against the force ofthe springbacked detent recess 12 about the center point 9 of thestationary ball head 2 and thus can effect a movement away from thestable position. If the stable position, that is, the return capacity ofthe ball 3 into the detent recess, is exceeded, the ball 3 springs outof the detent recess 12 and release occurs.

The balls 2 and 3 can have approximately the same diameter. The amountof the movement before release depends on the size of the detent recess12 with respect to the locking part 4. If a long movement before releaseis to be obtained, then the detent recess 12 is enlarged and, forexample, a flat conical shape is chosen which is greater than or equalsThus, the contact points of the locking part 4, in the present case ofthe ball 3, can lie within the detent recess 12 and an enlargement ofthe movement to the moment of the release is obtained.

If the safety ski binding is open, the lower part of the cylindricalsection 113 rests on the holding means 19 and in the present embodimentone steps with the heel of the shoe onto the entry support 20. By thisthe pivotable part of the binding isrotated counterclockwise about thecenter point 9 until the ball 3 engages the detent recess 12 under theaction of the spring and the ski boot is held by the sole holding part 5which grips over the sole.

A locating point 21 is provided as a locking part 4 in FlG. 2 instead ofthe ball 3 which locating point engages the detent recess 12. Saiddetent recess can have a conical shape so that a surface contact withthe locking part is obtained; however. a line contact with the lockingpart can also be provided through the construction of the detentrecessas a spherical sector.

The spring action line 18 can extend to the center point 9 of thestationary ball head or, as illustrated in H0. 2, can be arrangedeccentrically thereto. Again, the desired favorable relation of thevarious release forces during front release and rotary release in thehorizontal plane is obtained in a simple manner.

If desired, the eccentricity of the spring action line 18 may be madeadjustable by any convenient means with respect to the center point 9 inthe embodiment as illustrated so that a further adjustment of therequired release force is obtained (not illustrated).

The safety ski binding of the invention is of a simple structure,functions with a high degree of safety and has the capacity ofthree-dimensional release.

lclaim:

1. A safety ski binding, comprising:

a ball head fixedly secured to a ski and having a detent recess thereinlocated above a horizontal plane through the center thereof and to oneside of a vertical plane through the center thereof;

ski boot engaging means having means thereon to engage said ball headand support said ski boot engaging means for swivelable movement, saidski boot engaging means having elongated housing means defining anaction line, the longitudinal axis of said action line intersecting saidvertical plane at a point radially offset from the center point of saidball head;

locking means on said elongated housing means adapted to move along saidaction line toward and away from said ball head, said locking means,when in a first position being partially received in said recess to locksaid ski boot engaging means to said ball head and when in a secondposition permitting a swiveling movement of said ski boot engaging meansrelative to said ball head; and

resilient means adapted to urge said locking means toward said ball headat all times to yieldably resist said swiveling movement of said skiboot engaging means.

2. A safety ski binding according to claim I, wherein said elongatedhousing means has an opening therethrough. the longitudinal axis ofwhich defines said action line which intersects said vertical plane at apoint offset from the center point of said ball head;

including adjustable stop means at one end of said opening adapted foradjustable movement longitudinally of said opening; and

wherein said resilient means comprises a spring positioned within saidopening in said elongated housing between said adjustable stop means andsaid locking means, an adjustment of said adjustable stop meanslongitudinally of said opening regulating the engagement force betweensaid locking means and said ball head.

3. A safety ski binding according to claim 1, wherein said locking meansis a ball and said detent recess has a conical shape. I

4. A safety ski binding according to claim 3, wherein the relationdiameter of the ball head and the diameter of the ball is approximately1:1.

5. A safety ski binding according to claim 1, wherein said locking meansis a ball and said detent' recess is a spherical sector.

6. A safety ski binding according to claim I, wherein said locking meansis a cone and said detent recess has a conical shape.

1. A safety ski binding, comprising: a ball head fixedly secured to aski and having a detent recess therein located above a horizontal planethrough the center thereof and to one side of a vertical plane throughthe center thereof; ski boot engaging means having means thereon toengage said ball head and support said ski boot engaging means forswivelable movement, said ski boot engaging means having elongatedhousing means defining an action line, the longitudinal axis of saidaction line intersecting said vertical plane at a point radially offsetfrom the center point of said ball head; locking means on said elongatedhousing means adapted to move along said action line toward and awayfrom said ball head, said locking means, when in a first position beingpartially received in said recess to lock said ski boot engaging meansto said ball head and when in a second position permitting a swivelingmovement of said ski boot engaging means relative to said ball head; andresilient means adapted to urge said locking means toward said ball headat all times to yieldably resist said swiveling movement of said skiboot engaging means.
 2. A safety ski binding according to claim 1,wherein said elongated housing means has an opening therethrough, thelongitudinal axis of which defines said action line which intersectssaid vertical plane at a point offset from the center point of said ballhead; including adjustable stop means at one end of said opening adaptedfor adjustable movement longitudinally of said opening; and wherein saidresilient means comprises a spring positioned within said opening insaid elongated housing between said aDjustable stop means and saidlocking means, an adjustment of said adjustable stop meanslongitudinally of said opening regulating the engagement force betweensaid locking means and said ball head.
 3. A safety ski binding accordingto claim 1, wherein said locking means is a ball and said detent recesshas a conical shape.
 4. A safety ski binding according to claim 3,wherein the relation diameter of the ball head and the diameter of theball is approximately 1:1.
 5. A safety ski binding according to claim 1,wherein said locking means is a ball and said detent recess is aspherical sector.
 6. A safety ski binding according to claim 1, whereinsaid locking means is a cone and said detent recess has a conical shape.